High-Pressure Laminate

High-pressure laminate, abbreviated HPL, is a composite panel material made by bonding layers of kraft paper saturated with phenolic resin under high heat and pressure, topped with a decorative and protective surface layer, producing a dense, hard, weather-resistant sheet. Developed in the early twentieth century originally for electrical insulation and interior surfacing, exterior-grade compact laminate became a common rainscreen cladding and interior partition material from the later twentieth century onward for its resistance to moisture, impact and fading, and for the wide range of colors and printed finishes its surface layer allows. It is typically fixed to a supporting substrate or frame rather than used as a structural material on its own.